When formatting your book, laying out the front and back matter of the book is just as important as editing your manuscript. One of the most asked about pages in the front matter is the copyright page. Authors are uncertain what exactly to put and if you open ten books, it’s quite possible to find ten variations of the copyright page.

As long as you have the basic elements included, exactly how you write it is up to you. I asked one of the authors I format for if I could use her copyright page as an example. She graciously agreed. Here is a screenshot of her copyright page for Createspace.

You’ll notice she has the basic elements, (ie this is a work of fiction and all rights reserved). But she’s also added some additional info such as first printing and given credit to Indie Designz for the cover design and formatting. This is exactly where you want to add in those extra credits for your editor, illustrator, photographer or whoever you need to mention. While you don’t have to add all of the extras in like the published by and date etc, it does make your book look more professional. And this is important especially for self published authors.

So now that you know what goes on the page, let’s talk about where it goes. Usually the copyright page is on the back of the title page. That means when you’re formatting it’s going to be your second page of the book, right after the title page. This is where your copyright page should go and if you look in almost any traditionally published book, that’s where it’s located. So while there is no one way to write the page, where you put it is important in order to maintain that “professionally laid out” look.

If you’re formatting an ebook though you do want to check the site guidelines to see exactly what they require for their copyright. For example, Smashwords has to include the line “Smashwords edition” somewhere within the copyright section. So it’s important to check the site you’re uploading at to be sure they don’t have any specific instructions on things you need to insert into your copyright section.

And another tip for your copyright page. Be sure to insert your website links so people can find you easily. You’d be surprised how simply inserting your link can increase your fanbase and your ebook sales. Here’s a screenshot of C.A.’s ebook copyright page where you can see how I inserted the links for her. If you have any questions about how to write your copyright page, feel free to leave me a comment.

Panic invades a quiet town at the discovery of a woman’s dead body, bound and covered with poisonous snakes. The grisly homicide ignites the instincts of police consultant Artemis Herne, who must confront his own haunted past to uncover the frightening pattern of the killer. Every victim suffers from a phobia. And every murder transforms the victim’s worst fear into reality.

As Herne plunges into darkness and hunts for the truth behind the gruesome killings, he soon realizes that everyone has a fear to face.